How much does your Design Agency charge for amends?

If you have ever used a design agency for any of your work, chances are you will have had to make some amends.

It’s a guarantee that there will be some parts of the job that need amendments, and each and every design agency expects this, as each and every client will no doubt need. Because you can’t be expected to always nail everything first time, no matter how good the designer and how clear the brief.

But what are your thoughts on amends and how does a design agency manage expectations on a project where these goes a little further than what is expected?

Firstly, the agency needs to be clear of its own limitations. From the outset, there should be guidelines on how many amends are included within a quote. The general rule of thumb is between one and two, but the quote should clearly state these, and the agency will honour these, which usually includes changing images, swapping words and making minor alterations to the final product.

Extra amends?

In case you aren’t sure what extra amends are – these are changes from the client side which adds extra time to a quoted project that would need to be charged at an hourly rate.

When going above the quoted amends, this can be a difficult conversation to have when it comes to the further corrections – but to be transparent and open with each other, is it one that needs to take place. And any design agency wants to make sure that everything they do is correct and the client is happy – because a happy client means the possibility of future work.

Time, as they say, is precious, and as most agencies quote in time or days, they want to make sure they stick as close to the allocated amount, quote accurately, and get the job done within good time.

For a client, there are few answers that can help when it comes to smoothing this process over.

Firstly, a clear brief given to the agency is important. That way the quote can come directly from this and be a tight and clear path for the design agency to follow.

Secondly, any copy you are sending over, make sure it is approved internally first, so the agency amends aren’t from the root. And while it is completely accepted that we all sometimes see copy with fresh eyes once it’s on a different format (even if it’s just printed out) – having a few pairs of eyes on it before it hits the design can help incredibly and keep costs, and time editing, down.